Tag Archive: norton award

Wow, I haven’t blogged here for more than a month. Sorry about that. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to blog–a lot has been going on, and I have things to talk about (like Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel, not to mention some recent controversies on the internet…). However, one of my struggles as a writer has been learning not to take on too much. I have a day job and a family and some semblance of a social life, and several other commitments on the side, like writing Star Trek reviews at The Viewscreen, and editing newsletters and magazines, and so on. I have to fit writing fiction in there somewhere, and for the last month or so, I made the decision to focus on that. The good news is, I just finished a major revision on a novel, so I consider my time away well spent. But now I have a ton of e-mails to catch up on and a backlog of things to blog about…

Since it’s been an egregiously long time since I blogged here, here’s a quick update on some very important and mostly wonderful things:

I am a finalist for the 2013 British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer (aka the Sydney J. Bounds Award), for Fair Coin. Wow. Nominees were voted on by members of the British Fantasy Society and winners will be selected by a jury and announced at the World Fantasy Convention in November. I’m particularly surprised and pleased to get this recognition because my books have not yet been published in the UK!

Last month I visited my old high school in Yonkers, NY for career day. (Fun fact: Fair Coin is set in the fictional city of Summerside, which is basically Yonkers.) Many of the vendors there were in the medical profession, and I thought it might be weird for me as a former pre-med student there to be hanging out as a writer. But it was amazing to be back there and meet so many students and faculty who are excited about books and writing, and it was wonderful to reconnect with an old teacher of mine, Dr. Clarice Morris. Shout outs to some of the great teachers and teens I talked to: Joshua, Samantha, Melanie (pictured with me), Charisma, Shyana, Marco, Dean, and Josue. And thanks to Jim Riley, the school’s media specialist, who brought me there.

May the 4th Be With YouFirst, if you’re anywhere near Rosemont, PA, come to the Rosemont Book Festival this Saturday, May 4. The first annual book festival at Rosemont College will be held at Connelly Green and in the library with workshops, readings, panels, and signings from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rare (First!) West Coast Signing
I will be attending the 48th Nebula Awards Weekend later this month, which includes a mass autograph session on Friday, May 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the San Jose Hilton, 300 Almaden Blvd, San Jose, CA.

The autograph session is open to the public and Borderland Books will be selling books by the authors in attendance. This will be my first signing on the West Coast!

My dreary Monday was interrupted by the exciting news that Fair Coin was selected as a finalist for the 2013 Compton Crook Award! Named for author Compton Crook (the pseudonym of Stephen Tall), since 1983 this award has been presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) to the best first novel of the year in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Past winners include T.C. McCarthy’s Germline (2012), Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl (2010), and Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon (2007).

It’s an honor to be considered for the same award as all those talented writers and to share this year’s shortlist with Heather Anastasiu, Myke Cole, Jay Kristoff, and Jeff Salyards. Though I can’t find a list of finalists from previous years, I’m pretty happy to see a good range of fantasy and science fiction here, including three young adult titles. The BCFS membership will continue to read nominees and vote through April, and the award will be presented to the winner at Balticon in May.

And I’m still bouncing over the Andre Norton nomination… If you’re a member of SFWA, don’t forget to cast your votes by Saturday, March 30! Most of the Norton-nominated books are free in the Nebula Voter Packet, including Fair Coin, so you still have time to catch up! Right now I’m reading through as much of the Nebula-nominated short fiction as I can before the deadline.

I’ve also been meaning to mention that you have until April 15, 2013 to cast your ballots for the Locus Award. Anyone can vote for the Locus Awards, with no special membership or subscription requirements, so I’ll hope you’ll take a moment to do so. You’ll notice that Fair Coin is not listed among the fantastic YA Books or First Novels on the ballot, but you can write in up to five books you want to vote for.

And that’s all I’ve got on awards for now… :) Thanks to everyone who has read, considered, and nominated Fair Coin. I’m thrilled to get every bit of recognition because I know how hard it is to for a debut novel to be noticed, especially with so many excellent books being published every year. I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

Just like the Nebula Awards, the Norton Award is voted on by members of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is more than an honor to have my first novel recognized by writers — it’s freaking awesome is what it is. I have wanted to be a member of SFWA since I started writing, and Fair Coin is the fiction sale that finally made me eligible. And ever since I found out that there was an award for middle grade and young adult SFF (which by the way, is a great thing and very progressive, are you paying attention, Hugo Award committee?), I’ve wondered what it might be like to be nominated for it. Now I know! Freaking awesome.

I’ll admit though, I didn’t really think it would happen this year. As you know, Bob, I was on the committee that added three titles to this somewhat longish shortlist of nominees, and of course, mine couldn’t be one of them. And so many wonderful books for children and teens were published in 2012, which is good for everyone who loves fiction… even the author hoping someone will notice his little novel. After all, I’m not just a writer, I’m a reader, and I’m thrilled that so many of my favorite books made it onto the ballot this year:

If you’ve read even a few of those novels already, you’ll know how amazing it is for me to see Fair Coin listed anywhere near them. If you haven’t read some of these yet, don’t just take my word that they’re great—a lot of other writers think so too. I love reading and writing YA so much, and this ballot is a solid representation of the best that the genre can offer both kids and adults. *blushes*

I’m bouncing around a bit about all the other nominees for the Nebula Awards, many of whom are personal friends and/or writers I admire and also just swell people. (Don’t worry, I’m not gonna name-drop.) Congratulations to everyone, especially my fellow Norton nominees. I, for one, am going to go practice my knot-tying skills and archery to prepare for the arena. There are twelve of us, after all.

Meanwhile, even though I’ve read all the novels on the Norton ballot already (did I mention how great they are?), I still have a lot of reading to catch up on.

I’m comfortable enough with the fact that authors have to promote themselves, but I like some aspects of that reality better than others. I don’t like doing the “hard sell,” and I don’t like awards season. But I would also feel remiss if I didn’t mention my award-eligible works, because hey, I’m proud of them, and this is the first time I have an actual novel as a contender.

If you are a SFWA member, I would be honored if you would include FAIR COIN among your nominations for the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book on your Nebula Award ballot. Ballots are due tomorrow, Feb. 15 by midnight PST!